Aussie-RI relations a priority

Dewi Anggraeni ,  Melbourne   |  Sat, 07/26/2008 11:25 AM  |  Opinion

Most people would agree that our lives would be much better if we were friends with all our neighbors. But many, it seems, do not understand that to achieve this we need to work toward getting to know each other better.

This is especially crucial if we come from different backgrounds, where we have very little common cultural memories and few overlapping metaphors. In such a situation, each encounter requires a mutual explanation to avoid misunderstanding.

The relationship between Australia and Indonesia is a perfect example. Curiously, we expect the other to know about us -- a dangerous presumption -- but in reality we know very little. Furthermore, we still tend to fit each other into rather outdated stereotypes.

On the upside, there are indications that Australia is making a sustained effort to learn about Indonesia.

In the May 2008 federal Australian budget, the government committed A$62 million over three years toward boosting the study of Asian languages, including Indonesian, in Australia. Part of the funding will go toward helping Australian teachers of Indonesian to spend time in Indonesia to enhance their language proficiency and to broaden their social and cultural knowledge.

After a huge decline in the number of Australian students taking Indonesian studies over the last decade, knowledge about Indonesia among the community at present is pitifully low. On July 18, at an art forum organized by Asialink, of the University of Melbourne, we were reminded of this fact.

At the one-day forum dedicated to Indonesia, titled "Indonesia Calling", participants heard speakers, saw short films, heard excerpts from books, took part in a dance workshop and participated in informal discussions about current issues facing Indonesia.

Many confessed that while it was fun learning about Indonesia and its culture, they realized how little knowledge they had about current developments in the country. Contrary to what they had previously believed, the participants were amazed at how free writers were to broach a wide variety of subjects.

These comments came after the participants heard the excerpts from a number of writers' works, grappling with issues such as state-sponsored violence, corruption, sex, domestic violence, social injustice, social alienation and interpersonal problems. Many expected these topics to be kept under wraps by censorship. They did not realize that official censorship was losing its grip along with the demand of a society on a path to democracy, rocky though that path has been.

Nowadays, much censorship comes from the community itself. Of course, this poses a different set of problems, which the people involved have to negotiate.

The participants learned about a situation more complex than the pictures stored in their minds.

The forum was also treated to a talk on the chronological and cultural development of dangdut music, and about the community's acceptance and rejection of it.

Australian artists, who had spent time in different parts of Indonesia working with local artists, brought with them great insights. They emphasized that to absorb the other's art, there is a need for artistic cooperation beyond one-day workshops. In the process of their artistic cooperation, they formed friendships that gave them a deeper understanding of the local community, enhancing their creative capacity.

At a dance workshop, everyone kicked off their shoes and donned a sampur, a dance scarf, and with decreasing self-consciousness, moved their bodies to the music. No one became an expert that afternoon, but many were happy that they were able to perform a fraction of what they had often seen on stage.

Alison Carroll, the director of Asialink Arts, said Australians were cautious when dealing with Indonesians in order not to offend. After the forum, she said that maybe they had been overcautious -- Indonesians seem to be much more free and open than many Australians had believed.

Maybe instead of being cautious with each other, we should emphasize the importance of nurturing real friendships. With friendship comes mutual respect. There is no need to step gingerly around each other because stepping on a friend's toes is certainly something to be dismissed as an accident, rather than an insult capable of escalating into a full-blown conflict.

Since friendship is a two-way street, it is hoped that there are endeavors on Indonesia's part to get to know Australia better.

The writer is a journalist.

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